The Garden Path
by Marcus Gaudry
Summary: Part of the "7 Pillars" series. Realizing that the Ivory Tower cannot be changed from within, Toreador Primogen Xavier Vega meets with an Anarch from Canada who claims to have developed an entirely new system, and is willing to help him along the way to an unlife free of the Camarilla's shadow. Based on continuity established in VTMB 10 years later
1. Chapter 1

Xavier Vega turned left when he saw the sign that read 'The Glen at Maple Falls' and drove up to the gate. He had a guest card which he was told would lift the crossing bar and let him in with no problem, but opted to stop first when he saw an attendant at the booth. He rolled down his window and put on his best smile as the guard, a portly fellow that Xavier put at about fifty years old leaned slightly out his window. The guy looked amicable enough; Xavier decided he didn't really need to wow him with any Presence.

"Good evening, sir!" Xavier said cheerfully. "I'm a guest of Mr. Norton, and he advised I should meet him directly at a place called the Fireside Lodge. Could you point me in the right direction, please?"

The guard was indeed a happy enough sort; he gave directions without hesitation. Xavier thanked him, flashed the guest card and tapped it on the reader; the gate opened and Xavier drove through and, following the guard's directions, drove to the Fireside Lodge. He wondered if the guy at the gate was one of Norton's. Weaving through what seemed to the Toreador to be little more than a forested trailer park resort, he wondered just how much of this Russell Norton actually owned; what exactly did 'holdings' in a place this mean? He couldn't deny the place was pretty, if only in a quaint sort of way, but it was so very remote; the next nearest town was little more than a village, and it was several miles away. Not exactly a comfortable place for their kind; this looked more like the kind of place a Werewolf would favor. He supposed it might have a certain appeal to the Gangrel clan. Maybe Norton was a Gangrel...

He almost missed the turn to the Fireside Lodge. The Lodge was built on a slope, so that both level of the structure were arguably on ground level. The parking lot was on the higher end of the slope, and stepping out of his car he saw that the field the Lodge overlooked was dominated by a large inflatable covering. From the music blaring and echoing from within the bubble below, Xavier ventured a guess that his party was waiting down there. He took the stairs down, entered the Lodge, turned towards the exit that led past a Sauna and into the bubble; he ignored the sign that admonished all that enter the pool area must be wearing swimwear.

His eyes quickly adjusted to the level of steam generated inside the bubble, and noted the music seemed louder from the outside. Inside, he saw the pool was a jagged; almost diamond shape, one edge of which was partitioned off as a hot tub. It was in this partition that Xavier saw a man lounging far too casually to be anything other than either a Vampire or a some kind of rock star; his heavily tattooed arms stretched across the barrier between the tub and the pool, head tilted back as if trying to see past the opaque bubble covering overhead. All along the barrier were several empty wine glasses. On the deck were two bottles, and yet another glass, also empty. With a lackadaisical grunt the man brought his forward and regarded Xavier for a moment. His dark red hair was cut short and spiked up; the sideburns shaved clean off. He wore dark shades and had a toothpick clamped between his teeth.

He spat the toothpick indifferently onto the deck as he stood in the tub; the water waist deep. He stepped forward and extended his hand up to Xavier.

"Mr. Vega, I presume." He said warmly. "I'm Russell Norton. Call me Russ, if you like. May I call you Xavier?"

Xavier took his hand and shook it firmly. "Xavier will be fine." He replied. Already this guy was kind of a surprise; he did not expect an Anarch to be this casual and formal at the same time. Also, for some reason he felt like he knew this guy; it was like they met before.

"I'm pleased to meet you again, Xavier." Russ said, as if speaking to Xavier's thoughts as well as to him in person. "Did you bring swimwear? If so, by all means come on in! This jet stream in here is un-be-lievable!" He groaned in near orgasmic pleasure as if to emphasize his point, dipping down so his shoulders were submerged.

"No, thank you." Xavier smiled. "I'm fine. Where did we meet before?"

Russ shrugged. "Your loss," he said. "But I get it; this is a bidness trip, not pleasure. I respect that. We met at your Pit; maybe six months ago."

Xavier shook his head slowly; that didn't help much. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people pass through his club in Hollywood on a weekly basis.

Russ chuckled lightly as he picked up a glass and filled it from the contents of the bottle. He took a slug from the bottle before setting the bottle down, set the glass down gently, and began to sing:

"Dirty? Am I dirty?  
I'm so dirty, and so are you.  
The pretty lies are over,  
now is time for dirty truth"

He paused, raised both arms in the air, snapped his fingers three times,

"Everybody's Dirty!" Xavier joined in, remembering who Russell Norton was now. Six months ago, right around the time the all that Setite and Assamite shit was going on, he sang in a band that played in the Pit; a band from Vancouver, Xavier recalled. That was a lucrative night; the crowd got right into the chorus of that particular song; and lots of "Dirty" t-shirts were sold. In fact, they may have been there while he was in San Francisco; or was that the Deb of Night party?

"Naked Fire; that's who you are" he said finally. "Sorry it took me a minute to remember. I had a lot going on back then."

Russ waved it off with an 'I get it' gesture. "It's cool." He said. "Hey, at least take a seat, and have a drink while we talk." He pointed in a general direction towards a bunch of folding chairs. "You must have worked up a thirst on your trip."

Actually, it was true; he was feeling more than a little hungry. He took a chair as Russ poured a drink from the same bottle he was imbibing. He handed Xavier the glass and boosted himself up onto the barrier between the tub and the pool. Xavier took a sip from the glass and recoiled in surprise at the potency of the contents. He was used to his herd having a drink or two in them, but this was something else entirely. Russ laughed in a way that was entirely non- malicious.

"I call that blend 'E-Tard extreme." He explained. "I only break out that stuff for special occasions." He took a sip from his own glass. "If it's a little too potent for you I can get something a little milder..."

"No, it's fine," Xavier lied. It was way potent than what he generally took to; but then again the sensation from that one little sip was delightful; he simply had to finish what he started here. Besides, potent as it was, it was still Kine, and he didn't want to seem rude or soft to this possible new partner. He took another sip.

Russ nodded, and produced another toothpick from a small case on the deck. He clamped it between his teeth. "Alright, then" he said. "What is it you'd like to know about the Marble Hall?"


	2. Chapter 2

Russell had offered to let Xavier stay in one of the lots at the Glen; it was an offer that he politely declined. He meant no offense to his host, but somehow the idea of camping out in the middle of the woods in an aluminium trailer had no appeal to him at all. He didn't say as much, and apparently he didn't have to. It was pretty clear the Rocker got it, and interestingly enough was not offended in the least. Given how close the sun was to rising after their poolside palaver, Xavier did ask if there were any optional accommodations.

"No problem" he said in that casual way he had about him. "Tell you what; go on back into that little town you passed. You'll find an inn called All Hours. Tell the innkeeper you're my guest, and he'll set you right up."

It seemed to Xavier that this Norton fellow might have more pull than he initially thought; certainly all very small time stuff, but then that might be a means of staying below the Camarilla radar. Considering how high profile he and his band seemed to like to play it for the Kine, Russell Norton was getting to be an increasingly more fascinating individual. It was starting to seem like his little Republic project might just work out. He thanked his tattooed host, and made haste to get the All Hours Inn, where the Innkeeper did indeed set him up in a small but cozy in a rustic sense room with very sturdy shutters to block all sunlight from coming into the north facing windows. The innkeeper wasn't quite as friendly or cheerful as the gate keeper at the Glen; but was perfectly adequate. Despite the buzz he picked up from the E-Tard Extreme cocktail, Xavier Vega slept better than he had in months.

Waking up was a little rougher.

The jarring noise of a phone ringing startled him into a conscious state; since he knew he shut off his mobile, it had to be a landline inside the room. He hadn't even noticed there was a landline. Reluctantly he picked up the receiver; if only to make it stop ringing.

"Yes" he greeted; more of a question than anything else.

"Hey, Xavier" Russ greeted back, almost impossibly cheerful. "Sorry if I woke you. I didn't peg you for a late riser."

Xavier looked at his watch. It informed him the sun had set about 90 minutes ago. Not exactly late, but he wasn't up as early as usual. He said so into the phone.

"Well, maybe it's a good thing I called, then," Russ continued. "I just got a message from your buddy Tyler. He says he wanted to come out for a chat, too, but some total tightwad named Cammie on your council put a total cock block on that. All the same Tye says he sent a couple of his guys out this way. The names he gave me were Archie and Betty. Do you know them? Are they cool?"

Xavier gave his head a shake. "Yeah, they're cool." He said finally. "Archie doesn't much like anybody at first, but he'll warm up to you. Betty is..." Xavier had to think of the right way to describe Betty Ronson. The truth of the matter was that Xavier thought the only reason she wasn't a Ventrue was because Archie got to in Oakland first, just to piss some Blueblood over there off. "Betty likes things to be stable, and has a tendency to get testy when things aren't. But yeah, she's cool."

"That's good to know." Russ replied. "Anyway, they should be coming your way tonight, so you might want to stick around. I'll be dropping by to give a rundown with them; and I promise to be mellow for the lady."

"That'll be great."

"Fan-freaking-tastic" Russ exuded more good cheer. "Tell you what; I'll meet you in the lounge over there shortly. See you then."

The line went dead.

Xavier stared at the handset of the phone blankly for a moment before setting it back onto the cradle. It was apparent that Tyler was definitely interested in learning more about what Russ Norton had to offer, but was trying to make sure he didn't jump in headlong into foul water; he wanted to make sure this was the right play to make, to use the Brujah's parlance. That was probably wise. He could see why he'd send Archie; that was probably to show him that options besides the Camarilla were being looked at. Tye probably hoped that ease tensions within his Clan. Sending Betty made a kind of sense too. It would show his supporters he wasn't throwing the baby out with the bathwater, either.

He swung his feet out of the bed and onto the floor. Once he was sure his seams were straight, he headed out to the lounge. The lounge had quaint feel to it; a sort of log- cabin ski lodge type of decor with a bar on one end and a large fireplace on the other. The bar was flanked by an old jukebox, the fireplace by a pinball machine. When he got there, it was evident that the dinner crowd from a reasonably busy night was just about cleared out, and the place was taking on a sleepy feel. Xavier approached the bar.

"What'll it be, pal?" The bartender asked.

"What've you got?" Xavier asked, not really caring what was put in front of him. He had no intention of actually drinking it; only so that there was a drink in front of him while he waited.

"Since you're a friend of Russ, I recommend either one of his signature brews; we got E-Tard Extreme, or Mojave Mild."

The Extreme was actually a little too extreme for Xavier's taste; or at least a steady diet of it would be. He asked for the Mojave Mild.

"You got it, pal." The bartender nodded yes and went into the back. He returned with a green bottle, produced a frosted glass from under the bar, and poured the contents of the bottle. From the smell his heightened senses picked up, this blend had a small amount of THC in it. It was quite apparent that Norton liked his pharmaceuticals. That was hardly a surprise; most rock-star types seemed to. Xavier thanked the bartender and took a seat.

It wasn't long before an emerald green Dodge Viper pulled into the lot, right beside Xavier's car. An athletic looking blond guy with long hair and a stoned expression on his face with decisively Dutch features stepped out of the driver's seat as Russ Norton stepped out of the passenger seat. Russ was dressed in a casual- hipster fashion. The pair got to the front door of the lounge and playfully argued over who should enter first; apparently Russ won the argument since the bond entered first at Russ's insistence. On entering, the blond – presumably a ghoul – breezed right past Xavier and straight towards the pinball machine; it had some kind of professional wrestling theme, Xavier noticed. Russell plopped himself right beside Xavier.

"I said, hey tarbender!" He shouted at the bartender.

"Yes, tapron" the bartender called back. They both laughed; clearly this was a private joke between them. It seemed unlikely it was any sort of conditioned response from the bartender. These two had a more casual relationship than that.

Russell pointed to his escort at the pinball machine. "A wiser for my bud," he cocked his thumb at Xavier. "And I'll have what he's having."

The bartender mimed shooting a handgun at Russ. "Coming right up; it's good to see you, Russ." He said, taking off to put the order together.

Russ turned slightly towards Xavier. "So what do you think? Do we take care of our friends or what?"

Xavier looked around, appraising his surroundings. "I'll say that it certainly has its charming qualities, and covers the bases adequately." He agreed. He was about to add that he's personally accustomed to more urban settings, but thought better of it; that would be an impolite comment towards a host. He could almost see Russ roll his eyes from behind the shades he wore.

"Oh, go ahead and say it" he urged, not ill temperedly. "You're more comfortable in a big shiny city setting. I get it. Me too, actually; this place and where I actually live are more like vacation spots for me so I can get away from it all."

Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Get away from what?"

"The bullshit politics and lame-ass power games you find in all the Camarilla Domains." He replied slightly more seriously. "See, in the Marble Hall, if a Kindred has something to say, he –or she – says it; there's no asking permission to speak your mind or waiting for your turn to speak based on seniority or rank."

Xavier nodded appreciatively. That was one of the big points that came up. He glimpsed out the window and saw a beat up white Econoline van he knew well pull into the parking lot. He pointed out the window.

"That would be Archie's ride." Xavier told him. "Betty's probably with him." He paused a moment, then thought to add; "remember, their Brujah and short tempered. Unless you want a scene, keep the Jughead and Veronica jokes to a minimum." Then Xavier stood up to greet his fellow Kindred from Los Angeles, and to do appropriate introductions. Russ suggested they move to a booth, and they did.

"You'll have to make your pitch quick, Mr. Norton," Archie Doyle admonished. "You see, Betty and I are actually just stopping real quickly on our way to Seattle. So tell us what you're selling and we'll see if we're interested in buying."

Russ gave his pitch; it was a slicker, quicker version than the intimately detailed one he gave him last night, but essentially the same thing. Each State runs its own affairs completely automously and as they see fitting their needs, and each State helps the other States in matters that effect them all as a whole. The focus, Russ said, was to let Kindred live as they will provided they neither endanger another or infringe upon another's rights. He followed up with a rough example, using his home State as a model.

"So we can be as organized as we want, and nobody can tell us we're wrong?" Betty asked.

"That's what I mean."

"There's no Inner Circle overseeing all the States or anything like that?" Archie asked. "We won't be expected to bend the knee to some higher authority sometime down the road?" He seemed suspicious of this notion.

Russ shook his head no.

"So what's all this nonsense with calling your little piece of the Movement 'The Marble Hall' then?"

Russ laughed a good natured laugh. "Oh that; that's just a label that came up in a forum once and kind of stuck. I think mostly because it flies in the face of the Camarilla and their Ivory Tower."

It appeared to Xavier that Betty was all but sold. She was certainly quite taken by Russell Norton, anyway. Archie actually cracked a smile.

"I like that," he admitted in response to Russ's answer. "But I warn you now, if that turns out to be shit, there will be hell to pay."

That's fair." Russ replied. He produced a toothpick and began working it through his teeth as leaned back in his chair. "So, what is it that's taking you to Seattle, if I may ask?"

"We've got a bunch of new feds moving into LA." Betty spoke. "Rumor has it they're popping up all over the country, and it looks more and more like they might be setting up to hunt us. I mean, Kindred."

"So for all we got on them is they're probably funded by the NSA, and the most likely central HQ is in Seattle." Archie added. "We think they're keeping it quiet even to most of the government in order to keep their activities on a low profile."

This caught Russ's interest; he sat up straight quickly. "Is it guys in suits; maybe a few of them wearing what looks like SWAT gear? Are they equipped with top of the line gear?"

"Yeah..." Betty Ronson confirmed, speaking slowly.

"By any chance did you notice any sort of crest or logo – maybe a six pointed star inside a diamond?"

Archie squinted slightly and cocked his head. "Actually, yeah, I remember seeing that once when I think of it."

Russ slapped his palm on the table, cursing under his breath. "That's gotta be Brightstone!" He cursed again. "I thought we beat them! I should've known better. All we did was kept them from crossing the border; shit!"

"Slow down, there, laddie," Archie said. "Who is this Brightstone?"

"Awhile back we had a group of hunters try to move into a rural community up north." Russ explained. They tried to sell themselves as some new Anti Terrorist Intelligence group thought the media, but we soon figured out that they were actually a private organization funded by a conglomerate of at least six different things; private armies, Russian mobsters, and apparently a silent branch of the US government if your sources are correct. We caught on to the Russian mobster lead and connected it to a private army. Then we managed to push them out by convincing the public they were in fact an attempt by the government to quietly invoke Martial Law."

Xavier remembered that, actually. It caused quite the stir in Canada; a Vote of no-confidence was called and won, thus forcing an election. He didn't recall the name Brightstar, but there was a Martial Law controversy; that was about 18 months ago.

"To be honest," Russ added. "As much of a pain in the ass that was, it also helped the Libertarians set up the Valley Republic, because we were the ones who put a stop to them; not the Camarilla."

Archie and Betty looked at each other.

"Thank you for the information and your insight, Mr. Norton." Archie said, standing. But we have to get going. You have been a big help in dealing with this Fed issue."

"That's how it works," Russ said back as they began to leave.

Xavier looked at his watch, and realized if he was going to make any time getting home, he'd have get moving, too. Especially if he wanted to make sure that nobody in LA decide to pull any triggers when it might not be necessary. He said his goodbyes and promised to keep in touch.


	3. Chapter 3

Xavier was making better time than he thought he would; it turned out he was probably right pass right through Portland on the I-5 without even stopping at all. He was deep into Oregon already, and cruising at a decent clip. At this rate, he'd very nearly make it into California before sunrise; at the moment his target was Roseburg or Rosetown or whatever that little town was called.

His phone rang.

He activated his Bluetooth and answered the call. "Yes?" he greeted.

"It's me." Kaila replied on the other end. "How far out are you?"

"I should be back early tomorrow." He said. "What's up?"

"There might be an emergency session of the Primogen Council. Not tonight, but possibly by the time you get in. At the very least, you should know what it's about."

"Okay; tell me."

"Max had to step down as Harpy." Kaila told him. "I didn't catch why. I guess it doesn't really matter. The point is a new Harpy has to be appointed quickly for the sake of a stable economy. So far the proposed candidate is Bertram Tung."

Xavier balked. He understood the purpose of this call; it was partly so he knew what was going on, and it was also to see if the Clan would endorse the Nosferatu to the office of Harpy. What he was having a hard time grasping was that this was really happening.

"Where did you hear this from?" He asked. "Who told you about it?"

"Cameron told me," Kaila replied, "right after talking for several minutes with Tabetha. If anyone would know about Tremere matters, it would be her, wouldn't it?"

 _Well of course she would._ Xavier thought. The problem was it didn't make much sense. Why would Strauss step down? Was this some new scam of the Warlocks? That didn't make sense, either. He didn't object to the idea of Bert being Harpy; he and his Clan probably knew most of everyone's dirty laundry anyway, so it didn't make much difference –except maybe it would make life easier for Ajax. The hard part would be to sell the idea to Therese.

 _What does Cameron gain from Bertram being Harpy?_ He asked himself. For one thing, he had a lot of hooks in the Nosferatu, so he might be able to play Bertram in such a way to secure his place as Seneschal, or even advance it. The obvious way to get Therese to accept her old rival as Harpy was to gain enough endorsement through the Primogen to make it bad politics for her to refuse.

"You're calling to see if I will endorse Bertram Tung." He said to Kaila. With the outline of the Republic he now had, the idea of abstaining was very appealing. Without a Harpy, Kindred economics would quickly fall into disarray and for all intents and purposes the record would be smashed, thus corroding the entire infrastructure; especially in such a Nascent Domain. This could be a great opportunity to set things up so an entirely new system is looked upon with favor. It was an option to consider, especially if he could get Tyler and the Brujah Clan on board.

No; that would be a bad idea, actually. It could cause even more alienation from his own Clan if he went forward in such a fashion unilaterally. The better thing to do would be to bring the Clan together in Salon to ensure he was truly representing the toreador of LA on this. Until then, the right path was to stay the course and toe the line as it was.

"I'll tell you what, Kaila." Xavier said finally. "If I'm not back in town by the time this meeting takes place, you have my full permission to say that the Toreador endorse Bertram Tung of Clan Nosferatu to the office of Harpy if he so chooses to fill the honorable position." He was about to kill the connection in order to get Tyler on the line when he paused, and added: "One more thing; get word to the Clan that I am calling a Salon. Make sure they are ready to respond when the call is made."

He killed the connection before Kaila could say anything more. Before he made a case to the Rose, he wanted to see if he had backing from the Brujah. As a pair, they did well together last time; they got what they thought they wanted. It was time to make that union work for the right things now.

He scrolled his contacts and found Tyler. Hitting call, he waited for the Brujah to answer in his usual manner. The phone on the other rang twice, three times, four, then five... Tyler always answered by the fifth ring. Something was wrong. He disconnected the call and was about to hit the accelerator when he saw the all too familiar flashing of the cherries and heard the unmistakable wailing of Police sirens. The last thing he needed right now was to be stopped for speeding; or worse caught up in something that he could otherwise avoid altogether, so he pulled off to the shoulder of the road, cursing mildly. His hope was that the cops would blast by him to wherever they were going and then he could proceed as planned.

He was not so lucky.

There four cars; two went past him and turned sharply to block his path from gunning forward, and two slowed down to a stop, positioning themselves to block any chance of backing out. He was boxed in. The cops in the front two vehicles stepped out, drawing their weapons. In his rear-view mirror Xavier could see much the same happening; save the driver in one. Two of the cops behind had shotguns; apparently he had caught the exact wrong kind of attention somehow, thought he had no idea what he had done. As the one driver approached, instructing him to step out of the vehicle with his hands raised, Xavier activated his Presence in the hope of smoothing the situation over.

"What seems to be the problem officer?" Xavier asked as he stepped out his car, arms in the air.

"SHUT UP!" the lead officer shouted. "Interlock your fingers behind your head! Get down on the ground, face down! DO IT NOW!"

 _Well this is just fantastic!_ Xavier thought as he complied. _I have a highway patrolman who thinks he's Jack Bauer or something._

"Don't you move!" the lead officer ordered. "You, keep him covered." He commanded shotgun. "You two; check him."

Two of the officers from in front rushed in; one of them braced him down as the other one frisked him. It was more of a quick pat-down; not much of a search at all, really. "He's clear, sir."

"Alright, get him up off the ground."

The cops pick him up onto his feet roughly. He could have easily fought them off, but there was the others to think of; especially the one with the shotgun. They posed a problem; even with celerity. Also, these cops were clearly humans; the use of celerity would create quite the mess when it came to the Masquerade.

The lead cop stepped forward, trying to look tougher than he was. "You're under arrest for trespassing where you weren't invited." He growled, grabbing him to drag him back to his patrol car.

Xavier was sat down in the back seat. The lead cop raced around to the driver seat as Shotgun got into the passenger seat. The car sped off, continuing south. The other three cars followed; though one of the cops apparently commandeered his car, likely to impound it. It did not take long to see they were headed for the small town of Roseburg, Oregon.

Much to Xavier's surprise their vehicle went right past what served as the City Hall; even as the four cars in drogue turned in, leaving them to go on alone.

"I beg your pardon," Xavier said. "Where are we going?"

"Shut your mouth." Shotgun muttered. "If you know what's good for you, you'll shut your damned mouth."

They continued the rest of the trip in silence. Finally, the car came to a stop in front of a farmhouse on the south end of town. Under the direction of the cops, Xavier got out of the car. The lead cop told Shotgun to stay put, and then escorted Xavier around back of the house to the kitchen entrance. Xavier didn't know what this was about, but he didn't much like it.


	4. Chapter 4

"W-wait a min...minute! I...I r...rec-recognize this guy!" A southern accent, likely originating from one of the Carolina's managed to fumble out from the cold darkness surrounding him. As consciousness began to return to Xavier, the first thing he was aware of besides the stuttering from Carolina man was how badly his head hurt; a dull ache that started somewhere at the base of his skull and enveloped his entire cranium and throbbed and pulsed as if the pain itself was a living organism. He had vague memories of feeling like this as a mortal after many nights of partying way too hard; only this was worse than that, even. It was more like he was bashed over the head with a shovel or something. Then he noticed the cold; was he outdoors? He didn't know; he couldn't see even with his eyes open. Up seemed like down, and he felt like he was floating.

Eventually his cognitive functions started coming back; it was probably a relatively quick process, but it seemed like an eternity. His head ached the way it did because, he remembered, he actually _was_ hit over the head with a shovel. The cops took him into the farmhouse, and he got no farther than the kitchen when he got it; either from Shotgun or the lead cop. The lights went out right then. Now, he was blindfolded and hanging upside down; his feet and hands firmly bound. The cold air had a musty feel, and he could smell wet hay or something like that. He surmised he was probably in a barn. The question now was who his captors were.

"Are you saying you know this Cammie bloke?" Australian accent said; the lead cop, probably. The contempt with which he used the word Cammie suggested he was Kindred; most likely either an Anarch or worse, Sabbat. Did he roll into a Sabbat hideout? Xavier hoped to whatever gods might hear him that he did not.

"Y-yeah, I n-know him!" Carolina man stammered out. "H-he's the one who let me g-g-go! When we w-w-ere in S-s-s-s-anta Monica!"

"Is that right?" the Aussie muttered quietly.

Xavier heard the thunderous clomping noise of motorcycle boots striding across a hardwood floor towards him; each _clomp_ echoing inside his skull in counter-beat to the pulsing of his brain. It was a cacophony that was mad all the more painful because it was so offensive to his sense of artistic expression and appreciation. _If I get out of this alive, I might have to kill this asshole just for that._ Xavier thought briefly and quickly dismissed. VV would never approve of anything like that. He felt a set of finger gently tug at the back of the blindfold and squeezed his eyes shut; expecting a bright light to be blasted into his face. That light never came. Instead, Xavier was face to face with the lead cop, who was hunkered down and sitting on his heels right in front of him.

"G'day, Cammie" he said. "Now I imagine by now you're wonderin' just what the hell is going on. I'll tell you. See, Rosa saw you comin' outta Portland like a bat outta hell so we had plenty of time to make ready for you. She can do that, see things before they happen, I mean. Anyway, Mortimer set us – that's Lily, Rosa, Julius and me – up here in Roseburg as an outpost to make sure he had a filter for any Cammies or Sabbat tryin' to get into the Free State of Sacramento. So now you're being filtered. That's what's going on."

In a way, Xavier was relieved. These were not Sabbat; the language and terminology this one was using was clearly Anarch. The weird thing was these two barely registered as Kindred at all. Something was wrong with them; that or they had an incredibly high humanity rating. VV once told him about this thing that was like enlightenment or something she called Golconda; was that what this was about?

"M-m-Mortimer is a great g-guy. H-he's not like the rest of y-you when it comes to us th-thin bloods. H-he's e-even nicer than you were."

The lead cop bumped his head with his palm playfully and stood up. "Where are my manners, anyway?" he asked rhetorically. He took a step to one side so Xavier could see Carolina man, "Julius here says you did him a solid back in LA. Right now that might be enough to keep you alive."

Julius waved nervously, managing an awkward grin. Xavier recognized him almost immediately; the Mohawk, the stubble, the white t-shirt with an anarchy symbol. This was the Julius that he let live after finding him to be the Masquerade leak to David Hatter. Now he understood why these guys had such a faint Beast taint. These guys were thin-blooded; embraced so far removed from the First that the Blood in them was diluted to point where it wasn't what most would call Kindred anymore. While embarrassing that he got blind-sided by creatures so weak, it gave some relief that his trouble was nowhere near as dire as he thought. A simple blast from his Presence and he should be out of here and have his car back in no time...

...except his Presence wasn't working. There had to be someone or something else here with them. Xavier tried to scan the place with his Auspex only to find that wasn't working either.

"If you're tryin' to use your fancy vampire powers, don't bother, mate." The lead cop said. "It turns out some of thin-bloods as you types like to call us have a few tricks of our own. Like I said, Rosa sees the future; and then there's me. I can't learn or use any of your powers, but I do have this one thing; it seems that around me, other vampires can't use theirs' neither. I call the Null field. If I concentrate, I can even increase or decrease the range a little; from focused on one target to the size of a small building- like a house or a small barn like this one."

"I-it's just like Lily says," Julius chimed in. "Th-thin blood d-don't mean d-dumb. Right, E?"

"That's right, Julius." E agreed. "The way it is right now, Cammie, what happens to you next is pretty much up to Mortimer."

A Hispanic woman came into the barn. "The Baron is near." She said, and then stepped in a little bit deeper.

"Can I say something?" Xavier ventured to ask. "I mean, before Baron Mortimer gets here?"

E, Rosa, and Julius exchanged glances with other; as if trying to decide who gets to make that call. Maybe they did things like this by consensus, but Xavier had an idea that even in this little group there was one who was at least nominally in charge. He would have guessed E, but then Julius made a comment that suggested otherwise.

"I promise it's nothing bad or disparaging; if you need to go ask... Lily, wasn't it? Is she the one who makes decisions like that?"

E held his finger up to Xavier, indicating he best not speak right then. Finally Rosa nodded yes, and then Julius did also.

"Go ahead and speak your piece." E said.

"Thank you." Xavier said. "Mostly I wanted to say this to Julius over there. I remember you very well. It was about ten years ago; you started spilling the beans to some writer about how our society works and all of our secrets and traditions that were designed to keep us safe. That writer was going to use those secrets to write a movie script. Your carelessness could have endangered us all. Our Laws say I should have put you to death on the spot."

E took a step closer to him, cracking his knuckles.

"But you implored me to 'find my heart'. The thing is you were right and maybe didn't even know it. I learned something important that night; I learned that what is legal and what is right is not always the same thing. When they differ, it is always ultimately better to go with what is right. The long term benefits far outweigh the short term difficulties that way. I just wanted to thank you for that lesson, as unintentional as it might have been."

"Now that is not the kind of reasoning one would expect from the Ivory Tower." A new voice, slow and cool and smooth like something out of a dream spoke from nowhere. Julius jumped a little, startled as if the voice was right beside him. A figured materialized beside him; a man of average build, impossibly pale, and with these pale blue eyes which seemed to almost glow in the dark. Those eyes were both fascinating and unsettling. In dress, this man could only be described as dapper; his suit was as smooth as his voice, and his hair was long and black and perfectly kept neat as can be in a ponytail. He stepped forward until he was beside E. At the entrance to the barn, a girl, pretty in a plain sort of way, stood by.

"Good job, E; you have done well." The dapper man said. His voice had the kind of calm you might experience in the eye of a storm. "The State of Sacramento appreciates your service, all of you." Before E could reply, the dapper man turned his attention to Xavier.

"Allow me to introduce myself." He said to him. "My name, in case you haven't realized it just yet, is Mortimer. I am the Baron of Sacramento, and this otherwise unclaimed town serves as my outpost. Who, may I ask, are you, and what brings you out of Portland and into my Territory?"

This Mortimer guy brought creepy to a whole new level. The use of obfuscate told Xavier two things; first that if was telling the truth, his Null field was focused just on him, and second, that Mortimer was most likely either a Malkavian or a Nosferatu. For now, the Toreador was thinking Malkavian, but then some Nossies were able to alter their appearance like the Assamites could. Whatever the case, Xavier was certain of one thing; this was not someone he wanted to screw around with.

"Good evening, Baron Mortimer" Xavier replied, hoping that formality would be an effective tool here. "My name is Xavier Vega. I can assure you I mean no harm to you or your territory. I was dealing with some business near Seattle, and now am only making my way back home the quickest route I can."

Mortimer cocked his to one side. "I see" he said quietly, turning his attention now to Julius. "Cut him down, Julius, but leave his hands and feet bound."

Julius, knife in hand, came forward and did as he was told. Xavier fell to the barn floor with a dull thump.

"Now tell me, Xavier Vega," Mortimer said. "Where is home?"

"Los Angeles" Xavier answered. He decided then to play his LA status card; it might not mean anything here in Oregon- especially to an Anarch Baron, but it might be enough to discourage any malicious action for fear of retaliation. It was a bluff; and a dangerous one, but one worth taking. "I am the Primogen of Clan Toreador there."

Whether for good or ill, that statement seemed to spark a new level of interest in the Baron. "I could tell you were a Rose, but Primogen of the recently usurped Los Angeles!" He exclaimed. "It strikes me bizarre that a Primogen would have such rarified ideas within the Tower. Explain, if you can, how it is you reconcile your personal ideology with that of Cammie regimes."

"I can't, and that's the problem we face these nights. Clans Toreador and Brujah have been trying to renovate the Tower, and have come to see the futility of these efforts; hence the business near Seattle."

"Tell me more, Xavier Vega." Mortimer said, clearly fascinated. "Tell me more."

"What more is there to tell?"

"Do as he says, Cammie." E warned him. "That solid you did for Julius only goes so far."

"No need to get hostile, E." Mortimer interjected, not taking his eyes off Xavier. "It's perfectly understandable why he may want to keep mum on any details. What he needs to understand is I wish to hear some specifics. For example, what sort of business in Washington would be of use to him in California, especially since both Domains are basically part of the Hastings Dynasty?"

"I was in rendezvous with someone in the Movement in British Columbia- the Fraser Valley; Russell Norton. Do you know him?"

"Oh, yes, we do." Mortimer confirmed. "He's got an interesting idea; this 'Libertarian Republic' concept, I'll admit that. The problem I see with it is that it could easily become another oppressive regime just like those which we oppose. You put yourself on a dangerous, prickly path if you align yourself with the likes of Russell Norton."

"That's a chance I'm willing to take."

"If that is your choice, then so be it." Mortimer said. "One last thing I need from you before I decide what to do with you, Xavier Vega, Primogen of the Los Angeles Toreador. Answer me this; why should I believe you?"

"Because I'm telling you the truth" Xavier responded plainly. One thing he knew when it came to interrogations; interrogators generally distrust long, elaborate answers stuffed with a lot of so-called evidence. Even if you come with claims of tons of good references and can drop a lot of names, the best answers are usually simple ones.

Mortimer chuckled. With a gentleman's flourish, he turned away without another word. The others followed. Xavier noted he felt different once E got a certain distance away. Once they were all outside, the barn door closed, Xavier wondered if his Disciplines might be back in play.

There was only one way to find out. Using his heightened senses, he attempted to hear beyond the walls and door of the barn.

"I dunno if we should trust 'im." E was saying just outside the door.

"I agree with E." A girls' voice spoke; not the Hispanic woman's. Xavier surmised that was probably the one they were referring to as Lily. "He has the right answers, but then again most good can artists do, too."

He heard a soft murmur, but could not make out the words.

"I see two paths;" Rosa said. "One leads back to the tower, the other has many tangles. He has an axe...no...A hook! Which path will he take? I cannot see."

"I w-wanna let him go." Julius chimed in. Whatever gods there are, bless him. "Then w-we're even." It wasn't exactly the kind of reason Xavier was hoping for, but given the circumstance he was happy to take it.

More soft murmurs; most likely that was Mortimer. Then E came back in, armed with a shotgun, followed by Julius and the red haired girl that Xavier presumed was Lily. E trained the shotgun at Xavier, and then Julius came forward with a knife, and finally the girl with a bag of blood.

"Julius is going to cut your hands loose, mate." E said. "I warn you; if you try anything, I'm a damn good shot with this thing."

Xavier nodded. He had no intention of making any moves; he had an idea that E was doing his Null trick again anyway, and that meant his Celerity wouldn't work. E waved the shotgun slightly to cue Julius, who did indeed cut his hands loose. Then the girl handed him the blood, which Xavier bit into and drank up greedily. There wasn't a lot to the bag, but it was of good quality and did take the edge off his hunger just enough to settle the Beast for a time.

"So what happens now?" Xavier asked.

"Mortimer is going to check one of his LA connections to see what you're really about." The girl answered. "We already know that not all of you LA types are complete assholes; both E and I have one guy there we consider a friend."

"Is that so? Maybe I know him. I'm very well connected."

"He called himself Marko." E said. "Talked all crazy, he did; like everything was some kind of riddle. I seem to remember him making sense of Rosa's predictions with no problem. Razor sharp, that one, and blood worth bottlin'."

"Yeah, I know Marko!" Xavier confirmed in a cheery voice. "I work with him a lot, actually. He's also Primogen; of the Malkavian Clan."

"You're friends with Marko?" The girl inquired. "He helped E and me out in a big way! If wasn't for him, I'd probably be dead or still stuck in that blood bank with that creep and his chair and needles."

"That sounds like Vandal." Xavier said conversationally. "He's a real piece of work, that guy. Thing is, his service is sort of indispensible and he happens to belong to the Prince of the City." He shrugged as if to say 'what can you do?'

"Lily, be careful." E said cautiously. "Don't let 'im charm you with honey filled words."

Lily's phone rang. She stepped away from Xavier and answered as she walked away deeper into the barn.

"I-I th-think he's p-p-prob-probably okay, E." Julius sputtered out. "H-he l-let me g-g-go, a-and he's f-f-friends with Th-that guy you and Lily know. M-maybe one good turn deserves another."

E was silent a moment, his expression softening a little as he thought it over. "Maybe you're right, Julius. If nothing else, any sort of debt would be paid off then." He shifted his glance to where Lily was returning to the group. "What's the verdict, luv?" he called to her.

"Cut his feet loose and him in the wagon." Lily replied. "You and Rosa are going to take him to Sacramento. Julius and I are going to stay here."

As Julius cut loose his feet and helped him up so they could take him outside where a police wagon with California Highway Patrol decals was waiting for them, Xavier had mixed feelings about this. Sacramento was a lot closer to home, and that was good. The fact that the two he had clearly won over were staying behind and the two who maybe had some doubts were his escorts caused him some alarm.


	5. Chapter 5

After hanging up from his conversation with Tyler, Xavier flipped on the radio to discover that Deb was actually playing a live recording of his house band Ebola Cereal doing a rather good cover of a very famous song. This was something he found quite pleasing; he imagined that VV would be pleased to hear that he really felt something positive. The very fact he had the capacity to care at all about something as small as this had to be good sign.

It turned out his worries about his escort to Sacramento were entirely unfounded. As it was, the Baron of Sacramento, Mortimer, was very good friends with Jack, and Jack spoke well of him, which served as a good enough reference to put his safe passage through the Free State through. Of course he had to stay through the day, but reasonable accommodations were made for that. Accommodations aside, he slept poorly; it was like he was being monitored the whole time. Xavier supposed that should be no surprise; being in an Anarch State headed up by a Nosferatu with enough derangements that he could pass for a Malkavian if he wanted to. Though everyone was polite enough, he was overall glad to have Sacramento behind him. He did learn in his short time that the homeless population had dwindled to almost nothing; the kine's news made this out to be a good thing, but the kindred were very weird about it. Partly because it meant a food source was apparently evaporating, but mostly because it wasn't due to housing that this was happening; people were just disappearing. Xavier had to admit that was unsettling.

"Welcome back; you're hearing Deb of Night!" Deb greeted through the speakers. "For those of you still up and those of you who only come out at night, I'm here for you, so don't be shy. I don't bite too hard, unless you ask nice, so give me a call and share your mind. Just a quick note to those of you on the road; watch for a speed trap coming into the city just off the five."

That was good to know. Thank you Deb; how did you know? Xavier eased up on the accelerator. He was nowhere hear the city yet, but it was best to get into the habit in advance, he found. Deb went on to comment on a few top stories: The homeless population in Sacramento (and has anyone noticed fewer homeless on our own LA streets?), Confessions blowing up (that caught Xavier's attention), something about a carnival on the beach...

"And here are, LA, our first victim of the night! Good evening caller; you're on the air with Deb of Night what's on your so-called mind?"

The caller, who identified himself as Jim, commented on the LA homeless population. He had a theory that it was the final vestiges of that plague that swept through the city about ten years back; and that the CDC was quietly carting the bodies off to make sure nobody saw it. He also said he didn't see much point in covering it up; as far he was concerned, the city was better off for it. "Good riddance to living trash; I say." Those were his exact words.

"Well, Jim, I asked for your opinion and I got it," Deb responded. "I guess I got what I asked for, and now we can all remember what opinions are like, and that everybody has one, but nobody wants to hear yours again. Line two; you're on the air!"

"Hi, Deb," a meek and slightly frightened voice said back. Xavier couldn't quite place it, but he knew he knew that voice from somewhere.

"It's been a little while since we heard from you, Gomez!" Deb greeted. Xavier then remembered who this was. This was the guy who kept accidentally getting things a little too close to right for comfort. Xavier could have sworn that Tyler and Tabetha sorted this out during that Setite mess. "Did your prescription run out or something?"

"Okay, Deb; that one was fair and I deserved it." Gomez retorted, sounding just a little braver. "The truth is I have been taking my meds just like the doctors told me, and this time I am not making this up. This really is something that everybody needs to know. I got this from a good source, and it's something that is going to change America forever – maybe even the whole world!"

"Well then, you best get it out there Gomez! Don't hold back; show me what you've got!"

"Are you ready for this? Okay; you've already made mention of the homeless in Sacramento and LA. Did you know that similar declines in the homeless population are taking place all over the nation? You can go ahead and look it up if you don't believe me. On the surface it probably seems like a good thing, right? That's only if you don't know the whole story."

"Lay it on me, Gomez."

Gomez paused to catch his breath. "This is serious stuff; you have to understand that. If you were to look up the drop in homelessness in America, you could easily cross reference it with the implementation of those new government agency buildings going up everywhere. Now it's no secret that we're being spoon-fed the claim that these new agencies are an Anti-Terror Intelligence Agency. What we aren't being told is that this Agency isn't a government agency at all, but is in fact a Private Army outsourced by the government to initiate the process of declaring Martial Law on a National level and turning our country into a police state. Getting the homeless off the streets is just the first step in this initiative; this way, the transients who are off the grid are out of the way."

Xavier gripped his steering wheel tighter. Once again, this guy was only barely missing the mark. Of course, his 'crackpot theory' could be used to spark a desirable local paradigm. Maybe instead of silencing this Gomez dude, they could use him; start feeding him ideas that the Kindred need out there to manipulate public opinion...

Deb dismissed the thought as proof that Gomez should get his prescription checked. The she moved on to caller three. This was a woman; who happened to be a huge fan of the show 'Hotel' which was going to be airing its newest season soon. The caller wanted to know if there was any verification that this season was going to serve as lead-in to a Motion Picture that would be both written and directed by David Hatter. She said she hoped so; David Hatter was more than a writer, he was a creator of a whole new world...

For once, Deb actually engaged without the attitude. Apparently she enjoyed the show too. She didn't know if the rumors were true, but would look into it.

That David Hatter was doing so well made Xavier smile. He did have to ensure his vampire idea never left the now destroyed pages he wrote; but he also played a small role in giving Hatter a break into television instead. This was another encouraging sign that his humanity was returning; Hatter should be even less significant to him than the band. The band, at least, was directly connected to him through the Pit, so their success added to his own. Nobody had any idea of his very indirect connection to David Hatter of 'Mad Hatter Productions'. They met once, and only briefly. More than that, that meeting was originally only so he could make an impression on VV. It was actually Isaac that made the TV series happen in the first place. Xavier Vega had no reason to be happy for David Hatter; but he was. This was more good news to share with VV.

Deb went to another break. A few stupid commercials, a plug for Hotel, and couple of songs later, she was back to the chat. "Russ, our listener from way up north in Canada; you are on the air; welcome to Deb of Night."

"Thanks, Deb; I listen just about every night online; I love this show and all the nutcases you get on the air." It was Norton. That caught Xavier off guard. "Anyhow, I just wanted to touch on something that Gomez guy was talking about if that's allowed." Deb said it was.

"Great," Norton said. "The thing is; I checked his facts about the correlation of those buildings and the homeless situation, and he ain't wrong about that part. I'll admit his idea about a police state is a bit extreme, but what if it really is Brightstone – you can look that up, too – and what if this is set up for a false flag? It's just something to think about. Am I right?"

"Aaaand that's enough hysteria about government conspiracies for one night, folks" Deb cut in abruptly. She went on to the next caller, but Xavier stopped paying attention. It seemed to him that Russell Norton came through yet again; now the seed of was planted. All that was left to do was to nurture it and make it grow into a harvest. It took every ounce of restraint he had not to put the pedal to the metal and start working out a plan to make it happen. There was also the question of whether this should be started before or after Bertram was appointed Harpy; presuming he wasn't already. He contemplated calling Kaila to find out, but decided against it; he would find out soon enough.


	6. Chapter 6

Xavier breezed by the speed trap that Deb issued the warning about on-air with no trouble at all and could see the lights of Los Angeles looming ever closer through the windshield. Everything seemed to be running just as he hoped it would; yet he felt a twinge of unease. He supposed he should be pleased to be slightly ahead of his projected schedule, especially since everything else was evidently falling into place so neatly; the slight misunderstanding in Roseburg and Sacramento aside. Yet somehow it all seemed too easy. Deep in the back of his mind there was a kind of itch that he couldn't quite scratch; it kept telling him that something was amiss. He felt jittery; like he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He tried to shake the notion off. He kept telling himself that this kind of worrying was both wasteful and destructive. _It's just the Beast trying to mess with me._ He thought. _I can't afford to let that happen; especially not now._

Still, he couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't the Beast. What if it was his intuition kicking into gear? He was starting to have doubts. So far everything was just so perfect. What if it was a set up?

"Shut up" he said aloud. "Quit being so paranoid; the reason everything is going well is because you're on the right path."

But was he? Could he be certain that he was not getting played? An even worse idea occurred to him; what if, in the process of being played, he ended up bringing everyone around him down, too? He wouldn't be able to live with that; especially if his misjudgement caused VV harm. Then again, it has been said that those who do not take chances misses out on what life is all about. By definition taking chances meant there was a degree of risk involved. Not only that, but he wasn't sure he could back out now even if he wanted to. At least he was doing something; doing something was better than doing nothing. Even if it was some kind of set up, he had to think of the long game, and that long game meant that the ultimate outcome of what he was doing now could only be good.

As he made his way through the city to get to Hollywood; specifically to his Pit first, and then to Vesuvius, he kept up the mantra about taking chances being what life is about; by the time he got into Hollywood, he almost believed himself. The one block he kept hitting was the question of whether or not the risk was worth it. But all of it: The Republic, Norton, everything would have to wait until he and Tyler could align their Clans; with each other and more importantly each one has to sure and united in their own right.

Last he checked, Tyler had a mess on his hands with the Brujah Clan; not that that was much of a surprise. As a rule, it seemed like the Brujah were always a fractious lot- even with one another. That tends to happen when passions run as high as they do amongst the likes that generally make up the ranks of Clan Brujah. What was always impressive, though, was the fact they always seemed to come together when their backs were truly against a wall. Was that where they were now? It was possible they could see it that way. So far the best selling point Norton's ideas had was that it offered what looked like- on paper as well as in practice based on the Fraser Valley – both security and freedom. Of course, the Brujah Clan was for Tyler to deal with. He had his own Clan to worry about.

The Toreador Clan was a whole different mess. Amongst the Roses, one had to beware the Thorns; and in LA, there were plenty of those to go around. All were polite to his face, but he really had no idea whom among his Clan was waiting to find the right place in his back to bury a dagger; it was all smiles and flattery until you were the one not around. The only members of his Clan he could be sure about were VV and Kaila...well, VV he could be sure about. In a way he envied Tyler; at least those who were opposed to his efforts were up front about it.

Lost in his thoughts, X almost missed his turn. Entering into Hollywood now, he decided he should check in with Samantha at the Pit before going to Vesuvius to talk to VV. Most of the Pit business would be mundane stuff, but it would probably be best to get that out of the way while his head was still relatively clear. Then he could get into the heavy stuff; the stuff that was coming together so easily it was somehow troublesome. As he did his customary pass by the parking lot outside his club, he took note that it was busy, sure, but not quite as much so as he would have expected. He would have to look into that; maybe it was time to either find a new House band or make arrangements for a rotation thing. Maybe the scene was getting tired of Ebola Cereal.

He pulled in to the Pit, and entered through the front door like any other customer would; he did this often in order to get a feel for what his guests were experiencing. Immediately he picked up what was amiss, though the regular guest might not; the band wasn't playing. In fact the stage was completely empty; no microphones, no amps, no instruments- not even a drum kit. The stage was completely bare. There was music playing, but it was piped in. The dance floor was active as the speakers blared out a Naked Fire song; Russell Norton was assuring the Big Man that he would be a Good Kid. It was clear the revellers had no idea the song was not about an abused child and his father in the traditional sense; nor was the apparent Son and Father analogy really all that relevant. Xavier supposed one would have to be Kindred to catch that what Russell was really talking about was the relationship between Kindred and the Camarilla. They, the revellers, did seem to grasp the singer/songwriters' use of irony in the content of the lyrics, so that was something.

Shortly after he entered, Samantha approached him briskly.

"It's good to see you back, Xavier." She greeted with a smile. "I can explain why there is no band tonight."

"I certainly hope so." He said curtly. Samantha cringed a little; as if expecting some sort of punishment. The worst he had ever done to her was holding back on her fix. Then again, for a ghoul that was probably bad enough.

"Bobby was pretty loaded by the time they got on stage." She said apprehensively. "He fell off his stool in the middle of the opening act, and managed to break his wrist while breaking his fall."

"Idiot" Xavier hissed through his teeth, grinning bitterly. Samantha winced. "Not you; it's clearly not your fault. I mean that moron drummer." Clenching his fists, Xavier let out a grunt of frustration. In all fairness, Samantha did a nice job of clearing the stage and making do with what was available on immediate notice. There was no need to ask if the band had a stand in drummer; these kids were still in some ridiculous mindset that said if it wasn't all of them, then it wasn't them at all. "So I suppose Ebola Cereal won't be playing for awhile." He stated as if it went without asking.

Samantha shook her head no. "But I've already put it online that we are looking for a band to play an extended set." She offered a printout, which Xavier took. "We got these replies within an hour."

He scanned the printout. _You have got to be kidding me!_ He thought as his eyes fell to one band that sort of floated to the top of the list; Naked Fire from British Columbia was apparently looking to do an extended set to field test new, all original songs for a new album. It would be like a pre-production promotion. _Coming soon everywhere to you..._

Then a thought occurred to him; why not let Norton sell his thing to the Kindred of LA himself. He and Tyler could warm them up to the idea, but then let Norton finalize the sale. Once again, all the pieces seemed to fit together all too easily. He handed the paper back to Samantha, tapping on Naked Fire.

"I want them." He said. It made sense that he would; they did quite well last time they were here. Not that that was an issue anyway; it's not like Sam would argue with him on the matter. She nodded and said she would get right on it. He thanked her and made her smile again by assuring her she was doing a good job. "But now I have to go." He said. "I have some other matters that need my attention. I might not be back tonight."

"I see." Samantha replied. "So you'll be with Velvet...I mean, Miss Velour, then."

"Will that be a problem?"

"No" she replied, her face downcast. "Why would it be a problem?"

"I'm glad to hear that." Xavier said sharply before turning around and leaving. He could walk from the Pit to Vesuvius. Along the way, it occurred to him that Samantha was displaying a hint of jealousy; as if she had any right to be jealous. Who did she think she was, anyway? Did she not realize how close she came to death that night she found him and tried to call their former friends to stage an intervention on him? She should be thankful that she's still breathing! He even gave her a sweet job in the deal. How dare she think she has any place to even entertain the notion of stepping in between him and VV?

Entering Vesuvius, that entire train of thought was abandoned almost immediately; all that lingered was the idea that maybe he was being unfair. She was a ghoul, after all, and ghouls tend to get over-attached to their Masters. There was a dancer on stage; it was neither Kaila nor VV. That was good. He had a lot to talk to VV about tonight. He made a B-line to her private room, not even considering she may be entertaining someone in there.

She wasn't. Rather, she was standing at attention, as if anticipating the arrival of her Primogen and lover.

"Well, look who is back." She cooed invitingly.

"I've missed you, too, love." He said back. "Sadly, play will have to wait. We have a lot to discuss."

"Yes..." she agreed, sitting on the love seat and offering the seat beside her on it. "We do. Come sit beside me. I want to...hear everything."

He took the seat and told her everything; from entering the Glen to meeting Russell and the details of his Libertarian Republic approach to an autonomous society, his offer to stay at that inn he has under his thumb, the meeting with Archie and Betty where Russell filled in some blanks about the Feds. He told her about his run in with the Thin Bloods and E's strange ability; and their involvement with Baron Mortimer in Sacramento. He told her about his drive from Sacramento into LA. She listened intently; though Xavier couldn't tell if she was impressed with Norton or suspicious. _There's that doubt again._ He did not mention the cocktails that Russell Norton laid on him; but he did make a point of emphasizing how he's been a help to some of their local troubles already. He did give us important insight and experience based recommendations on how to deal with one of them, he pointed out. Not only that, but he even helped lay down some groundwork to make a similar manipulation plausible here in LA.

"Yes..." she agreed cautiously. "He does seem to be very...helpful."

"Oh, yeah; I should mention that an opportunity has come up that may mean he can come here to LA and everyone here can see for themselves how legit the guy is."

VV purred with curiosity.

"The house band at the Pit is out with an injured drummer," Xavier explained. "I invited Naked Fire to come up and fill in while they field test some new tunes."

"That sounds exiting." She admitted. "I look forward to meeting your new friend."

Sizing her up to verify her sincerity, Xavier Vega nodded slowly. "There's something else to talk about." He said after a slightly awkward silence.

VV purred consent.

"What is the latest on Bertram Tung being named Harpy?"

"The Gathering regarding Max's..." she paused, clearly moved by this. "The Gathering regarding Max's replacement hasn't happened yet. So Bertram's appointment isn't official...yet."

"But Cameron got a full endorsement on his nomination."

"Not a full one...the Brujah refused to endorse." VV clarified. "I suspect that was more about refusing Cameron's wishes than it was against Bertram."

Of course it was; Tyler and Cameron were like cats and dogs, for desperate want of a better analogy. If ever there were two that filled the stereotype that many had regarding the way Brujah and Ventrue related to perfection, it would be Tyler DeFaulte and Cameron Hastings. Really it was moot that Tyler's refusal would not make much difference in the outcome; that probably wasn't even the point. The point was more likely that Cameron couldn't buy or own Tyler; period, end of sentence, end of discussion. Internally Xavier applauded the big guy.

"So it looks like Cameron will get his way anyway." He said. "The question is why would he promote someone he knows Therese will be loathing to have to recognize as so important to her court? Why would he want to force her hand like that?" The only reason he could think of was to demonstrate that he could do it; that would illustrate who was really in power in the mind of someone like Cameron.

"There's more to it than that." She replied hastily. "Tabetha broke the news to me that Max...was...recalled. She also suggested that I step up to combine the roles of Keeper and Harpy. I told her I would consider it."

That was interesting. Never mind the obvious question regarding what could motivate Tabetha to set up a viable opposition to Cameron's bid; that was something to look at later. VV could handle the mixed role; no doubt about that. Even more important, If Therese was offered an alternative to Bertram, she would almost certainly take it, especially if it was a reasonable alternative. Therese might be mad as a hatter, exceeded only perhaps by her younger twin sister, but she was by no means stupid. It was no secret that Cameron and the Ventrue Clan in general had good ties with the Nosferatu. She would have to see that Cameron was trying to manipulate her court.

Perhaps wondering what Tabetha Toussaint was up to was immediately relevant, after all. Was she jockeying to get Cameron ousted from the office of Seneschal? Her manipulation was very clever, indeed. If she played it right, she might even be able to gain some support from whatever Camarilla friendly Brujah were left in the city.

"You know I'll support whatever decision you make." He told VV lovingly.

"I know," she concurred, nuzzling in closer to him.

That was enough talk for one night. Now it was time for comfort. Xavier let VV's wiles overtake him.


	7. Chapter 7

Before the Gathering, VV advised Xavier to watch everyone very closely once the Gathering was called to order. He had already decided to do even better than that; he meant to gauge everyone in the moments _before_ they were called to order. This way, he'd have an idea of everyone's mood. From understanding their mood, he reasoned, he'd be able to glean their attitudes and discern who might be ready for a change and what sort of change they might be looking for. As far as he was concerned, he accomplished that.

When the Gathering was called to order, the first matter the Prince addressed was the conspicuous absence of Damsel. Based on the body language between Tye and Fenris, Therese wasn't supposed to know she was apprehended. To his credit, Tye handled himself well under fire. In his personal opinion, Tyler was selling himself short as Primogen; the Brujah are well known for being a contentious Clan with a multitude of clashing ideologies, and Tyler kept finding ways to maintain a balance between playing nice in the sandbox and not taking any bullshit from the likes of the Ventrue. Xavier could respect that. He imagined that in his mortal days, Tyler DeFaulte made a fine quarterback.

Once Tyler got his ass off the hot seat over Damsel, things started to get interesting. The Prince and the Seneschal went straight to business of appointing Bertram to the office of Harpy. Without much warning, the old Sewer Rat slammed on the brakes in that regard; he inquired as to whether anyone had thought to consult him to see if he wanted the job in the first place. His inquiry garnered a plethora of reactions. Tye seemed to be enjoying the fact that Bert appeared to be turning down the offer that the Brujah did not endorse. Just Mike was also getting a bit of a chuckle out of it. Xavier figured that might indicate he got something from Cammie for his endorsement, and since he gave the endorsement, Cammie owed regardless of how things turned out beyond the endorsement. Marko's shock and dismay was profound; if he were of any Clan other than Malkavian, Xavier would guess he was exaggerating. Imalia had virtually no skin on her face, so it was even harder to read her than it was Ajax. Her body language suggested a kind of smug victory. That sort of figured; the Nosferatu Clan was well documented as being thicker than three day old porridge. Odds were good she already knew Bert's reaction well before the Gathering was even called. What's more, it was almost certain Cammie had to pay a steep price for her endorsement; Ventrue usually got charged double, even if there was a good working relationship between the Clans. For his own part, it was unexpected; being Harpy would give their Clan a huge amount of power- the kind of power they usually broker in, at that. He could only guess that this was some way of sticking it to Therese. Tabetha was typically impassive, but something about her suggested she was relatively pleased. Then he remembered; it was Tabetha that put the idea in VV's head to make a bid for the office of Harpy. The fact it was evident the old Nosferatu had some reason to snub the offer probably worked in her favor. Danielle shot an initial look of offense, but then her mind started to work and see an unforeseen opportunity. Cameron shot a glance at Tabetha, who actually grinned ever so slightly. Xavier caught it, and noticed that Tyler did, too. Could there be some cracks in the mighty Ivory Tower? It was starting to look that way. _How could those cracks be exploited?_ He wondered.

After a short exchange which made it clear Bertram did not want the job and a barely plausible reason for his rejection, Danielle did indeed jump at an opportunity to place a bid on her own behalf. There was a general feel of skepticism over that; more out of wariness that that may be some kind of Ventrue set up to flood the Court than anything else. Then VV placed her bid.

Therese asked for any other bids, and when none came, she froze the economy until she made her decision in one month's time between the two candidates. This freezing was met with a groan of objection by pretty much everyone except Cameron. The Ventrue looked a little relieved at the declaration of the freeze. He may have been a greasy bastard, but he wouldn't renege on any boon he owed; he understood that owing was as important as being owed. If he owed, then he was an asset. His relief most likely stemmed from the fact he now had some time to make sure his debts were worth their cost. His overall assessment of the situation was that it looked like Cameron attempted to pad the Court with his people, and that attempt was foiled. If Xavier was right, then Cameron would likely do whatever he could to keep VV away from becoming Harpy as well as Keeper; she was probably the biggest threat to his current status in the city, especially with the edge of experience both as a Kindred and a fixture in Los Angeles itself- whether talking about Kindred society or Kine.

Once Therese dismissed the Gathering and those in attendance began to go about whatever business they had that night. Xavier opted to resume where he left off with Tye.

"So what's the deal here?" he asked. "Is it some kind of Trojan Horse play?"

"Yeah; something like that," Tyler confirmed. He glanced over his shoulder at his Clanmates. "Listen up, man, I appreciate your offer and all; but we already got things in motion. Throwing an extra player into the play now would just throw everyone off the game. But check it out; I do know one thing you can do that'll help in a big way when it comes to the long game."

"I'm listening." Xavier replied.

"Good to know; so you know by now what Archie and Betty got started in Seattle, right? Well, I happen to know that you're the just the guy to go to put the right spin on what's going to happen tonight. So what I was thinking was this; you do your thing with the media, and maybe we can use tonight's extraction to turn up the heat on Brightstone. Ideally what we need is to turn public opinion against these guys all across the board."

Xavier raised an eyebrow, interested. "You mean bring the whole police state spin over here." He confirmed. "I can probably do that. It would help if I had something to work with."

"How about we start with the missing homeless?" Tyler suggested. "Some of the Nosferatu in Seattle have it on good authority that the goons over there have been covertly clearing them out in order to cut off food supply."

"I can definitely use that." X agreed. "An easy spin would be to put the idea out there that by taking out the homeless population, Brightstone is basically cleaning house and getting folks used to there being less and less people on the streets all in the name of better public safety. In fact, I might know just the way to get that ball rolling."

Tyler nodded his approval and broke ranks to go off with his Clan. Before taking off himself, Xavier took one last look around to see what was going on with the other players still on this field. Tyler and the Brujah were leaving on their extraction plan. Tabetha was also watching everything, that Mona-Lisa type smile still on her lips; Xavier found it somewhat disturbing. Just Mike and most of the other Gangrel were leaving, looking totally unmoved by the events of the night. Of note, Fenris seemed to vanish entirely from sight; almost as if she wasn't there at all. Ajax and the new guy stole away to talk about something apparently known to them. Cameron was sulking; at least until Kaila came up to comfort him. What struck Xavier was how Kaila was able to step right into the affairs of the Prince and the Seneschal like it was nothing. And then there was Marko; he was watching Tabetha for a moment, then he excused himself; Therese dismissed him absently.

"Are you ready to go?" VV purred into his ear. "We have some work to do if I'm going to make Harpy."

"Yes..." Xavier turned his attention to his lover. "Yes, of course we do. Let's get out of here. I have some business to attend to as well. Can we do this at the Pit tonight?"

"Yes" VV concurred.


	8. Chapter 8

The drive back to Hollywood was encouraging. From the sound of it, VV had much of her strategy already in place. She had the support of the Tremere Clan, and the favor of the Prince. In fact, it was the Tremere Primogen and Regent that suggested she bid for the office. Xavier already figured they'd get Brujah support just on principle; the alternative was a Ventrue that was really close to Cameron. Not only that, but Xavier had developed strong ties with Tyler over the past few months. Imalia and Bertram of the Nosferatu wouldn't be much of a problem, whatever differences their respective Clans may have; VV had a sizable boon on Imalia that she could call in if she had to. When Xavier suggested she could offer to scratch the boon from the record in exchange for open support leading to assignment as Harpy, VV seemed to like the idea. This would cover that base should Imalia be bright enough to catch on that all boons are frozen until the office of Harpy is filled. As far as the Gangrel Clan was concerned, VV was sure she could gain their support, too. That left the Ventrue Clan; obviously they would support their own.

The main thing was having the favor of the Prince; they both knew that. They both knew that it was likely that Cameron was aware of that too. The fact he was already so close to Prince Therese was likely the one major obstacle that Velvet Velour was facing. He may be able to convince her that Danielle is the wiser choice, and to appoint her would be a perfect way for Therese to exercise her power of VETO which Praxis affords her.

Now sitting in his office at the Pit, once VV left to return to Vesuvius, Xavier Vega was very much encouraged; with VV in such a high office – two offices merged into one, in fact – it would be much easier to work in the Libertarian means of governance that was working so well in Fraser Valley.

But now he had other matters to attend to.

With a remote control Xavier turned the volume down on the speakers which offered the playback from the piped in music currently playing in the Pit. It pained him mildly to do so; the DJ was playing a very good piece put together by the great Leonard Cohen at the moment. With the same control, he turned on the large flat screen television mounted on the wall. It was currently on the Musevision channel; he switched it to World News Network, where the anchor was just finishing up a segment revealing some kind of scandal with some charity or another which was actually a cover for child exploitation in Madrid. For his part, Xavier suspected this had some Kindred connection to it; maybe Giovanni, possibly Lasombra. Whichever the case, he had to grit his teeth to suppress his anger. That his place of birth could be so badly compromised infuriated him almost to the point of distraction. The scroll along the bottom of the screen read of an Amber Alert for a little boy gone missing from a town in Quebec; police suspect this might be related to the series of abductions that have plagued the Province, it said.

The background behind the Anchor changed to show the Brightstone logo, with an added graphic; a red circle and a diagonal line crossing it placed over the logo. This was what Xavier was looking for. It would appear that Archie and Betty were getting busy in Seattle after all.

"Meanwhile, in Seattle, protests against a new branch of the US government have been gearing up and gaining some serious momentum. In several major cities, facilities have been erected, and until very recently we have been advised these new facilities are meant to accommodate what is known to the public as the Anti-Terrorist Intelligence Agency, a domestic branch of the Department of Defence." The screen changed to show a small parade of protesters with placards that read things like "Aid not Raids" and "Detention Centers are NOT homes!" and "Say NO to MARTIAL LAW!". The march was clearly set in Seattle, in front of what certainly looked like a government building, judging by the columns that marked the entrance of the building.

"However, over the past few days, the number of people voicing their suspicions of the true purpose of these facilities and objections to their presence has been growing. There have been reports of several popular media figures voicing their suspicions across the nation, as well as a small number of civilians, but the largest demonstration to date has been at the Seattle branch. Some witnesses have even gone so far as to claim they have seen members of the Agency physically remove the marginalized and members of the homeless population from the street. Representatives of the Agency offer this explanation..." A shot change to a well groomed woman in a power suit – a DeVries suit, Xavier noted – standing behind a podium with several microphones pointed at her.

"It had recently come to our attention that the enemies of our Nation and opponents of Democracy may likely target the less fortunate in order to take out what they call 'soft targets' and to turn the worldview against our way of life by painting it as cold and indifferent to the less privileged. In response to this, the ATIA has, in cooperation with the Brightstone Foundation, provided safe shelters for these potential targets and/or potential recruits." The PR woman said. They were making this too easy. It was clear to Xavier that while these guys might be well trained for combat against the Kindred; they were no match when it came to dealing with public scrutiny. Of course, the Kindred had the advantage of several centuries of experience of maintaining the Masquerade and getting their hooks into almost every conceivable venue of mortal life. Having heard enough, Xavier hit the mute button and picked up the phone. As he dialed the number for 'Deb of Night', he read the scroll along the bottom the screen; it was reporting about an oil spill in the Caspian Sea.

Deb was a prime example of Kindred influence; though she rarely attended any of the Gatherings, she was one of them, and a recognized member of the Clan of the Rose. As popular and entertaining as her show was, in reality it served a very specific purpose. Deb's objective was to ensure that any and all Kindred affairs that leaked into public awareness were sufficiently spun and explained in a manner that would not hurt the Masquerade. Occasionally, people like that guy Gomez would pop up and start spewing stuff that could cause a major breach, and Deb would put them to rest; either by correcting their perspective, or by making such people out to be complete fools. Tonight, Xavier saw a way to add a new color to her show. Tonight, it might be good if Deb actually let someone like Gomez be right; or at least on the right track.

"Thank you for calling Deb." The phone receptionist greeted, sounding bored. "Please tell me your name and what it is you want to talk about."

"I need to speak to Deb right away." Xavier replied. Before the receptionist had a chance to give him any lip or sarcasm regarding the fact that this was readily apparent, he added: "This is to be an off-air discussion. Tell her it's Xavier Vega. I'm sure even you know what _that_ means."

The receptionist was silent a moment; probably a little astonished to be talking to the Primogen of her Mistresses' Clan. "Yes, of course, Mr. Vega," she said, sounding much more interested in her job. "Please hold on, and I'll get Deb on the line ASAP."

The line went quiet for a few seconds. The scroll at the bottom of the screen was reading about some animal attacks in a place called Chilliwack, while the screen itself showed fallout from what was either an earthquake or a bombing in Whatever-stan.

"Primogen Vega, thank you for calling!" Deb greeted finally. "How can I help you tonight?"

Obviously they were not on the air, based on her greeting. "Good evening, Deb." Xavier began. "First let me comment that your service to our City is much appreciated. Your work serves to make our Clan look very good in the eyes of the Prince and the Ivory Tower." He already knew that wouldn't mean a lot to Deb, who was known to be highly independent. "I'm sure you're aware of what's been going on in Seattle as of late."

"Yes, I am." Deb replied. "All of that is ratings candy, and draws several callers."

"Including one particular caller, I note. I believe his name is Gomez."

"I assure you, Primogen, he is of no concern to us. I have him well in hand."

"I'm glad to hear it." Xavier said. "The next time he calls, I need you to handle him a little bit differently. You see, the protests against the ATIA and Brightstone are us. The claims the protesters are making need to be validated and Gomez is just the guy to help the protest gain traction here in the City of Angels."

"You want me to give him a green light on this one." Deb stated.

"So long as it remains safe for the Masquerade, yes, I do." Xavier confirmed. "I should tell you now this goes towards putting a stop to a hunter organization, and through that a paradigm shift in how things are run here in LA." He paused for effect; to let the implication set in. "You give this Gomez some credit and encouragement, protesters start organizing here, the hunters are stopped and the system starts to change; all because of your show. I know you personally have little to no interest in either the Camarilla or the Anarch Movement, but your contribution would not be forgotten either way."

"I see."

"Do this for me, and it's a win for you no matter what."

"Let me ask you something, Primogen Vega." Deb replied. "Have you ever considered trying your hand at selling deep freezers in Alaska?"

Xavier smiled. "So you'll do this?"

"Absolutely I will!"

"Thank you, Deb. You won't regret this." He disconnected the call. Looking at the screen of his television, the anchor was back on, still muted. The scroll along the bottom read about the protests in Seattle.

There was a light tapping on his office door, followed by Samantha opening the door a little bit to stick her head in and advise him that a Mr. Russell Norton was on line one. He told her to put the call through.

"Hello, Russell" Xavier greeted jovially. "I trust that Sam contacted you about Naked Fire playing here."

"I did." Russell replied. "We're on our way to LA now. Listen up. I'm calling for a reason here; I understand there's a Rose down there by name of Kaila Reynolds."

"Yes, we do." Xavier confirmed. "I take it that by asking about her that you know her."

"You can say that." Russell admitted, a little vaguely for Xavier's liking. "What can you tell about her time in the city? What's she been up to?"

Not sure why Russell would need that information, Xavier wondered if there was any relevance. "What's this about, Russ?"

"I know her from Vancouver. She's on board with the Libertarians." Russell said. "I just want to know if she's in a place to be of use politically."

That was good enough for Xavier. "She lives up in the Hills. She works as a dancer in VV's club. She and Cameron are having an affair."

"Who's Cameron?"

"Cameron Hastings of Clan Ventrue is the current Seneschal of Los Angeles. He's a hardcore Cammie; so much so that several of locals call him Cammie." He hesitated a moment, not wanting to tell him about the 'super seven'.

"Is there something else, X?"

"Yeah, there is." X said finally. "Cameron is a Hastings of the Hastings Dynasty all along the West Coast of North America. Oh, yeah, one last thing; about ten years ago his sire was slaughtered by the former Prince Sebastian LaCroix."

Russell Norton tittered over the phone. Xavier didn't much care for that; there was a certain Malkavian quality to it that made him nervous.

"That's good." He said. "That's very good. Well, I guess that's all I need for now. Whatever else there is can hold until I get there."

"Wait a second, Russ." Xavier blurted before Russell could cut the call off. "There's something I need from you. I've gathered you might know a guy in LA that goes by the name Gomez- he's the one that frequently calls Deb of Night?"

Russell laughed in a good-natured way. "Yeah, I know him; kind of. I heard him on that show; got his number off a search engine, and now I feed him stuff to call in about once in awhile. It's all just fun stuff."

"That's fine." Xavier smiled; feeling a little bit grim about it. "Here's what we need to happen; we need Gomez to call Deb of Night tonight, claiming he has insider information that says that everything the protesters in Seattle is true. This goes towards generating rallies and protests to bring down Brightstone and the ATIA."

"We handle this right, and word can get across the country and force those assholes to halt their operation entirely." Russell said approvingly. "It's a temporary solution, but it should be good enough to keep them at bay for quite awhile."

Xavier hung up. For once, things were looking like they were coming together for the better. All that was left as an unknown was Tyler and his extraction plan. Hopefully by the time that goes down word will be out to confirm the protesters' claims are legit. With that in place, the action at Brightstone can be explained as being connected to protester activity. Not only that, but if Russell was telling the truth about Kaila, they even had a good shot at getting out from under the shadow of the Ivory Tower.


	9. Chapter 9

"Well done, Samantha." Xavier said to his ghoul appreciatively as he studied the Brightstone protest site he put together via an express site building server; for the purposes he intended it to serve, it would be sufficient. Almost immediately he started getting hits from all over the city and even other parts of the state. Sam's input, along with what Gomez had to say was working wonders; all the more with Deb's encouraging commentary. "You've helped set things in motion in an exponential way."

Samantha beamed. "Do you mean it?"

Xavier glanced away from his monitor at her. "Yes" he said. "Now I need you to get back down onto the floor. I have a few things to do up here."

"Okay" she said, turning and almost skipping out of the office.

Xavier flipped on the television. He almost expected to find it tuned to the music station he usually favored, but it wasn't. It was already on the news channel he meant to turn it to. He was, of course, treated to the anchor; his hair parted on the side, mustache waxed and shaped, his suit tailor-fit, his bowtie matching the suit; yet his eyes seemed to betray a slight sense of panic which was made just a touch more emphatic by the tones in his voice. Xavier couldn't help but feel mildly amused; this guy had been doing this for at least a decade and still got stage fright.

"Local authorities indicate that the worst of the carnage stemming from the bizarre blackout in downtown Los Angeles has past and that they fully expect things to return to normal by dawn. Amongst the places apparently the hardest hit has been Anti-Terror Facility. Speculations abound as to what precisely happened, but no clear answers have been given yet. Of particular interest is the number of the city's homeless population that are reported to have been seen evacuating the building during the melee..."

With an amused snort, the Toreador switched his gaze to the monitor of his computer which was still viewing the site he made up in regards to the whole Brightstone affair. He clicked on the tab that would send a user to a live forum page.

The page was lively. Most of it was light-hearted enough; pretentious babble of the late night sort. There was also a substantial amount of running commentary on the news bulletin that just played out. There was Go-Mez! Saying that he knew that government building was bad news, and that he sure that those homeless men and women were being held prisoner in order to set up for Martial Law in any number of major metropolitan cities.

Using his user name, Xavier replied to Go-Mez! He agreed that the mass exodus from the Brightstone building certainly gave the rumors and speculations a lot of credibility. As an afterthought, he added a second reply; this one claiming he heard rumors of some kind of experimentation going on. No harm in adding a little fuel to the fire, he figured. Perhaps he could persuade Marko or Jeanette, or some other Malkavian to convince one or more of the rubes that his new rumor was true. The worse that Brightstone looked on a humanitarian front, the more likely it was they would be forced to shut down.

In any case, the rumor had one desired effect; droves of people began posting and ranting about the evils of that kind of testing- whether on humans or animals. The rights activists were out in force now. There were at least two or three talking about organizing an actual protest; saying this online lobbying was great, but the real impact is when the protest action is visible. Xavier replied that he absolutely agreed, and that was the real purpose of the site; to coordinate a real-life, visible protest like in Seattle.

Someone else added an interesting insight; there should be provisions provided for the people who got out of the building. A new entrant using the name Tye-D replied to that one; saying he and his girl were already on top of arranging for that.

 _Whoever would have thought_ we'd _be the good guys here?_

Xavier had to chuckle a little at the thought; the undead and the damned coming out smelling... well, like roses in any circumstance. Even if it was an illusion, it really was something. Even if, given the Masquerade, the mortal world would never know any of it; the whole idea had a certain ironic charm to it.

HOLY SHIT someone wrote.

IT'S TRUE! That same someone continued. They advised everyone to look at the news now.

Xavier did.

"We have a breaking update on the fallout from the blackout incident in Downtown Los Angeles," the anchor announced. "One of the individuals that came out of the building has claimed that the agents that ran the facility had them quote: 'Strapped down to machines for some kind of blood transfer experiment.' This man was scuttled away by Navy officers before he could give his name or elaborate..."

It wasn't ideal; the blood element could prove to be problematic, but it still gave them something to work with. Fortunately it sounded like the Brujah 'Navy officers' got to the whistle blower first; which would mean that he was probably going to be taken into whatever it was that Tyler and Damsel had started to arrange.

For once, it seemed like all was going according to plan. In fact, that seemed to be the case ever since he had his little palaver with Russell. Even the snag he hit on his way back was resolved easily enough. Part of him seemed to be warning him that it was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped. Nothing ever came together this easily anymore. Maybe that by itself should be a warning that he was being set up...


	10. Chapter 10

In a single moment, with a single action, everything in the world as Xavier Vega slipped out of focus into a Crimson Wash. The plans to unseat Therese and put VV at the helm of the city, the palaver with Tyler and Russell, the fact that Fenris was fending off some hunter in the middle of the floor while Cameron was directing a frantic crowd off the premises, the explosion in his upstairs office that sent the charred forms of Damsel and Tyler crashing to the floor, everything crumbled to ash along with form of his beloved Velvet the moment another hunter parted her from her head.

Then everything sort of slowed down. Not the way things do when engaging in Celerity; this was very different. Instead, it seemed more like he stepped aside of himself and was watching what happens as the Beast within too over; zeroing in on the source of a fury unlike anything he ever even knew he even possessed.

This slowness was accompanied by a red hazy blur; a kind of surreal lack of perception as he surged forward, not entirely in control of his actions. It was exactly as he was once told it would be; his flesh moved forward towards the hunter, but Xavier Vega himself was very much in the backseat of the vehicle of his body. Before the hunter could react, Xavier was upon him; his hands wrapped around his throat. He could feel the tendons and cartilage of the man's neck bend and give as he squeezed; in a vague way he savored the sensation of the man's breath begin struggle as his windpipe started to constrict. With just a little more pressure the hunter would find his air supply completely cut off, and soon he would lose consciousness. With just one tiny jerk of his wrists and the hunter would took his lover's head would have his neck snapped and he would die.

This was not enough; he took the one thing Xavier truly loved away from him. He took her head clean off. Surely it was only justice if Xavier took his head off as payment; and did it much matter if his method was a little messier? Surely not; it was certainly the same in principle...

"Settle down, X."

The beast within started to ebb; albeit grudgingly. The man was reasserting control; though only gradually.

"We need that one alive."

Who was speaking? Not him, no.

"He has valuable information that can help put an end to all of this. Get a hold of yourself."

Xavier loosened his death grip on the hunter, who was proving to be tougher than expected; but only slightly. The voice was coming from behind him; he knew the voice, but couldn't quite place it. Not VV; she was no more than a pile of ashes on the floor of his club. No, this was a man's voice. Someone he knew...

"They invaded my club." Xavier snarled. "They desecrated my property. This one killed my love. Why should he continue to draw breath?"

"I understand all of that, Xavier." It was Norton speaking, using tones meant to quell the Beast. Where did he learn that from? It didn't matter; it was starting to work. "Believe me, I do; all too well. The Cammies took my love away from me, so I know exactly what you're going through. You take him out now, and you prove yourself every bit the monster his kind think we are. Don't let him win; not like that. Besides, he probably knows things we don't, and we need that right now. So let up so we can pump his noggin and see what we find."

Xavier growled in objection.

"After that, we can decide if what he's got is worth sparing him."

In a flash of motion, Xavier let go of the hunter's neck and gave him a hard shot to the temple, knocking him out.

Gradually, the Beast lost its hold; though it was obviously what was happening even as he was debating with Norton. He was reluctant to turn around and see the damage his club had incurred. The Beast was settled, but he could still feel it lingering right near the surface. It was entirely possible that seeing his property trashed might set him off again. He could hear Samantha rally the staff to get the place cleaned up. Also, Cameron had called in his people to collect the bodies and deal with them appropriately. Xavier scowled. He just knew that Cammie was going to call a boon for his assistance.

Slowly, he turned around. Someone removed the stake from Fenris, and the Gangrel was coming too. A couple of gurneys had been rolled in, and Tyler and Damsel were being set to be wheeled out; Cameron grinning smugly. He must have been enjoying this. Xavier had no doubt that the Ventrue was going to milk this situation for all it was worth. His go-to ghoul, Mercurio, was working his way towards where he and Russell were standing over the hunter. He had a pair of handcuffs ready, and he bound up the hunter and hoisted him up.

"Keep that one isolated, Mercurio," Cameron called. "Nobody talks to him before I do."

"Sure thing, boss." The ghoul called back as he left.

"Well," Xavier said to Russell quietly, "we're kind of fucked now."

"Not at all, X," Norton replied, grinning. "Trust me, this is fine. Just leave everything to me."


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks in part to Cameron's connections with the cops; investigations into the events at the Pit were at best cursory. Now Xavier Vega was in a step deeper with that Ventrue prick. Wasn't that wonderful? At least he was able to access the place without any real trouble; that meant he could oversee the repairs directly.

The Pit would be shut down to the public for awhile; there was nothing that could be done to change that. As for Norton's proposal to put Cameron Hastings in power in order to corner him into granting and advocating in favor of an Anarch State, Xavier was the one who felt cornered right now. If there was a way to set up Sovereign State without having to play nice with that son of a bitch he'd take it. One thing was certain; VV would never have gone with setting up a Hastings Domain. Maybe that was why Norton kept quiet about that part of his little scheme. Or maybe he and VV talked, and she convinced him to come up with some kind alternative. Xavier would never know now; VV was a pile of ashes and Norton was back on track with his original plan. What was even worse, Xavier couldn't see a way out.

Xavier Vega looked up from contemplations when he heard the front doors of his club open. Damsel was stomping in; it occurred to him just then that Damsel is always stomping when she moves. She also always seemed to wear a permanent scowl on her face; he couldn't recall any time he saw with an actual smile on her face. She may have offered a menacing grin from time to time; and in those cases she still managed to look pissed off. Even the one time they had anything like a heart to heart she maintained an appearance that said she was at least mildly peeved. That time, back when he chaperoned her after that Assamite tried to frame her for Isaac's assassination and the conversation they had after that was about the softest he ever saw her features. Right now she was trying to replicate that, with some success. He recalled then actually feeling somewhat attracted to her; for some reason he couldn't quite understand, the feelings this time around weren't quite there. He could see quite plainly she was attractive; he understood very well why Tyler liked her as much as he did. There was no denying that Damsel was what the mortals called 'hot'; there was a time not long ago he would have said so himself. For all her rage and discontent, Damsel was remarkably focused. She was also admirably passionate and protective of her own; she truly deserved the title of den mother.

"Hey, are you gonna say something or just gawk and drool all night?" Damsel broke his train of thought. "I got a topless pinup kicking around somewhere I can give you. It'll last longer!"

"I'm sorry." Xavier said. "I guess I got my Toreador on for a minute there. How can I help you tonight, Damsel?"

Damsel rolled her eyes in a manner that Xavier guessed was her best attempt at being lighthearted or flippant, and then immediately went to her default expression of contemptuous discontent.

"We gotta talk." She said. "Word is that you and your rock and roll bromance buddy are planning on putting Cammie up as the Prince of this city."

The Toreador didn't expect the Brujah to know that, but he saw no point in trying to lie about it. He did, however, make a point of not showing his surprise. He thought for a moment to inquire where she heard that, but dismissed the notion just as quickly; it didn't really matter. It was most likely the Nosferatu, though he doubted that the Brujah would reveal her sources. What did matter, however, is whether this was a call as Den Mother to the LA Brujah, or as Sherriff of Prince Therese Vooreman.

"Let me ask you something," Xavier replied, "do you approach me with this as Den Mother, or do you come to the Toreador Primogen as Sherriff?"

"What fucking difference does that make?" Damsel nearly snarled at him. That was almost answered his question by itself. "Either way, the idea that you would back Cammie of all people, is almost enough to make me want to fucking vomit. Is it true or not?"

"It makes a big difference." Xavier countered. "I need to know if I need to propose to the Primogen Council to have you removed for slander or to agree that Cameron as Prince is the worst possible thing I can imagine."

"Oh, that's real," Damsel scoffed. "Nice way to say nothing without missing a word. Look, I've been on board with restabilising LA as a Free State all along. If that doesn't tell you that I could give a flying crap what happens to Therese, nothing will. Whatever capacity I come to you in, the fact doesn't change; Cammie as Prince is worse than Therese, and it makes no difference that Hastings regimes work out to accommodate Sovereign States."

So the Brujah were not in favor of this part of Norton's plan, either. That was the first bit of good news that Xavier heard since VV was taken from him. It occurred to him then that they would not have sent Damsel in here unless they thought had some kind of alternative in mind.

"Did you come here to complain," Xavier asked, "or do you come with an option?"

"What do you think?" the Brujah asked back. "First I need to know if you're down with leaving your butt-boy's plan well enough alone. We're cool with his model for a Sovereign State, but now we think it's time to quit with his whole scheme of playing nice neighbor bullshit. It's time we take back LA. It should be ours like it was before that douche bag Lacroix rolled in."

"We rousted him." Xavier said. "We can get past this. And yes, I like the idea of LA being Anarch turf."

"Then you better come with me to the Last Round." Damsel said. "Jack got word from the Nosferatu about your buddy's game. He said he figured they must have your places bugged. If we're gonna work out a plan, then we gotta be careful."

"That's fair enough." The Toreador relented. She was right, of course. Xavier had always been careful about security; VV was so much more relaxed about that sort of thing. He really should have swept Vesuvius after she died. He stood up from his chair. "Let's get going, then."


End file.
